Best Practice

Preventing suspensions and exclusions in your school: 13 areas of focus

Vulnerable children Attendance Pupil wellbeing Behaviour Pastoral issues Safeguarding
Students are struggling with increasingly complex needs and the number of suspensions is on the rise. Virtual school headteacher Darren Martindale considers how to engage with vulnerable young people, including 13 areas of focus
Image: Adobe Stock

Earlier this year, SecEd reported on official figures showing a significant rise in the numbers of suspensions and exclusions from schools.

They show a total of 263,904 suspensions handed out during the spring term 2022/23 – the highest number ever recorded and an average of 3.13 per 100 students.

Persistent disruptive behaviour is the most common reason for suspension, followed by verbal abuse or threatening behaviour against an adult.

When it comes to exclusions, 3,039 were recorded in the spring term 2022/23 (0.04 per 100 students), up from 2,179 the previous spring term.

The reasons for these rising figures are manifold. What is clear, however, and without wanting to sensationalise any of this, is that the increasingly complex needs of some students are presenting their teachers with major challenges.

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